Wasting Away
by StarTrekFan83
Summary: Harry and Ginny have broken up. However, Hermione just has to but in. She's set him up on a date, hoping to make him see reason. Who is this mystery person that Hermione set him up with and is it really a date?


**Author's Note: **This one-shot is written for the Quill Contest at The Hideaway. Also, I dedicate this one to Wile. You're awesome!!

"Oh come on Harry! What would it hurt?" Hermione asked seriously. "It's not like you have a lot going on at the moment."

Harry shook his head. "Hermione, would you give it a rest? I don't want to date anyone right now."

Hermione sat down across from Harry. They were in Hogsmeade at Madame Rosmerta's. "Really, Harry," she started. "It wouldn't actually be a date. More like a chance to see someone that you've not seen in a long time."

Harry sighed. "Oh come on Hermione I can see right through that. Cho and I broke it off a long time ago. It was just too much with Cedric and all," he said sadly, remembering his friend again and the circumstances which had brought Harry and Cho together and then split them apart all in one devastating year.

Hermione shook her head. "It's not Cho, Harry. But, if I tell you who it is you won't go."

Harry looked at her. "What's so important about me going out on this 'date'?"

Hermione sighed frustrated. "Look, it doesn't really matter. All you need to know is that this person is on her way now."

Harry was annoyed with Hermione. It hadn't been long since he and Ginny Weasely had called it quits. He wasn't in the mood for romance by this point. As far as he was concerned he didn't need anyone anymore. It was simply too much trouble. And it wasn't like he'd had any luck so far with relationships. They all seemed to end badly or begin badly.

Hermione took Harry's silence as admittance. "Oh, look she's here now. I'll just go. If you need me I'll be at the Burrow."

Harry nodded to Hermione who left. Hermione had stayed with Ron and his family, once the two were married. Obviously Hermione meant for Harry to come see her when his "date" was over. He found himself scanning the crowd, but didn't see any woman near his age around. Was she invisible? What was Hermione thinking? All kinds of thoughts were running through his head when he heard the chair in front of him move. He whipped back around to see someone he hadn't seen in a long time, as Hermione had said.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. How long has it been? Too long I'd wager," Professor Minerva McGonagall stated sitting down and scooting her chair up to the table.

"Professor?" Harry questioned. "What are you doing here?" Then he corrected himself. "I mean it's nice to see you."

Minerva's lips were in a firm line. "Hermione asked me to come see you. She felt that you were wasting your young adult life away. Quite frankly, after everything she said I find myself in agreement."

Harry frowned slightly. Just what all had Hermione said to his old transfigurations professor? "I'm not wasting away," he argued somewhat. "I just am in a rut, I think."

Minerva sighed. "Harry, life comes at a price. It's that way from the moment you're brought into the world. Unfortunately, your life came at a greater price than most. But, you did well. And now Voldemort is gone, permanently." It was no longer taboo to speak Voldemort's name because he was gone permanently. Minerva did not fear the name, not as much as she used to.

Harry sighed. "But, the cost was so great. Many good people died."

Minerva looked hard at him. "And so because of that you're going to just waste away and not take a moment to appreciate a Voldemort free life? I think the people who passed on would be angry at you, and with good reason."

Harry tried not to glare at her. She was his elder and she had done so much in regards to ending Voldemort's reign permanently. It wasn't as though she didn't have a right to say anything, but he wished that it wasn't him she was speaking to. "Professor, I mean no disrespect, but don't you have other things to worry about besides me?"

Minerva felt hurt at his words. "Harry, I've always cared about you. You've always been important and special to me. I can't imagine this world without you. You made myself and Albus proud. Albus would be happy to know that you made it out of all of this alive and that you've got a life for yourself."

Harry stiffened at the use of Albus' name. He missed the old man everyday. He'd been like a father figure to Harry and Harry had been devastated at his death. No matter how it all had ended, he'd never wanted to use Dumbledore even if he'd spent most of his youth angry with the man. "But, what you've come to tell me is that he'd be disappointed in me now," Harry stated angrily. "That he wouldn't want me to be wasting my life and that I'm a disappointment, now. Look at the great Harry Potter-"

"That's not it at all!" Minerva stated sharply. "I didn't come here to give you a list of names of who would be the most disappointed. I came to tell you that I am disappointed. Because, Harry, you've got to enjoy your life, no matter how long or short lived. You can't just let go because you've hit a bump. You have not failed, and I'm not disappointed in you. I'm just disappointed. I know life's not fair and it's been the least fair to you. But, I'm not going to stand by and allow you wallow without saying anything."

Harry was momentarily at a loss for words. What could he possibly say to what she just said to him? "I am sorry," he found himself saying. "It's just that maybe I've lost my way, I dunno."

Minerva frowned slightly. "Well, maybe it's time you found it. I know I'm not a parent, nowhere close actually. But, I care about you and what happens to you. If you're ever going to listen to me I hope that you hear me now. Harry you are a good person who did the right thing, no matter how it all turned out. I could sit here and lie to you and tell you that I have no regrets in life. But, I have many. I don't want you to spend the rest of your life regretting everything you ever did, and certainly not like this. You have too many people who love you and care about you. I don't want to see you having to struggle. You deserve so much more than that. I've always thought of you as a son. Please know that."

Harry swallowed hard. He knew Professor McGonagall cared about him, but he didn't realize the length to her caring and that she still did. "I just don't know what to do anymore," he stated dejectedly. "I feel like there's nothing left."

Minerva looked him in the eyes. "Are you insane Potter? You've got your whole life ahead of you now, with nothing to stop you from living it, but you. Don't you dare give up. You can't start it all over again by talking to Miss Weasley. And Potter, don't make me have to come find you and talk more sense into you." With that Minerva got up and cleared the area leaving a very red-eyed Ginny standing before Harry.

"Ginny?" Harry questioned his ex-girlfriend. "What are you doing here?"

Ginny sat down where Professor McGonagall had just been. "Hermione and Professor McGonagall said that I should come talk you. They badgered me for forever until I gave in." She'd said it all in a rush as though she might burst before she got it out.

Harry just knew that no matter what he said he'd say the wrong thing. He'd done it with Cho and then even with Ginny a few times. But, he decided to go with what his gut was telling him. "Do you wanna just start over?"

Ginny nodded, "Yes. I would really like that. We've lost so much already and losing you was hard. I feel like maybe we just had too much going on and that we let it get in the way."

Harry agreed. "But, I'm not saying that I've changed. I'm still working through some stuff. But, I would like to give it another go."

Back at the Burrow Harry easily found Hermione. She was busy cleaning the kitchen with magic. She'd taken to helping out Mrs. Weasely a lot.

"Hey Harry," Hermione stated somewhat uneasily. "How did it go?"

Harry glared at her in a friendly way. "Always muddling in things aren't you Hermione? But, this time it worked. Ginny and I are together again. I suspect we'll be taking things slow at the start. But, I wanted to thank you for butting in. Just don't do it again."

Hermione let out a light laugh. "I won't. I just couldn't stand to see you falling apart and wasting away."

Harry frowned. "Well, I'm not. Not anymore. I'm not saying that I can just forget everything and go on like nothing happened. But, going it alone was kind of stupid."

Hermione stopped what she was doing and grabbed a box off the table. "Professor McGonagall asked me to give you this."

Harry took the box from her and gave her a questioning look. "Do I even want to know what's inside?"

Hermione cocked an eyebrow. "I don't know what's inside Harry. I didn't look. She just asked me to give it to you."

He sat it on the table and stared at it for several moments. When he finally found the courage, he opened it up and frowned. All that was there was a little slip of paper. He picked it up and read it. It was in McGonagall's writing.

_Harry, _

_your life has been like this box for a long time, empty. Now you've got something to fill. Make sure to put important things from your life inside so that you can fill two important things at once. Don't ever forget what you did and how you suffered. Just remember that you no longer have to suffer. Fill up your life Harry and feel it up with great and different things._

_M. McGonagall_


End file.
